Hope
by Maximillian Havisham
Summary: For Natza Week 2018. An epilogue to 7 Years and Counting.


Within East Forest there is a hill that stands the same height as the trees that surround it. There is a lone tree placed carefully on the crest of the hill, providing ample shade to those who choose to sit under it.

A young man with soft pink hair rested at the base of the tree, his eyes focused on the full moon looming high above.

"Here you are. I've been looking everywhere."

A beautiful woman ascended the hill, her eyes smiling at the young man. Her long, crimson locks were tied in long braid that stopped just below her back. Her hair had grown long over the past few months. Neatly folded over her arm was a wool blanket, and in her hands were two mugs of steaming hot chocolate.

"Would you mind company?" she asked.

Her husband patted the spot next to him on the grass. She graciously accepted, wrapping the blanket over the both of them.

"I don't need this you know." He stated, taking one of the mugs from her. Even with his magic the drink was surprisingly hot in his hands. The blanket wasn't that bad either if he was being completely honest.

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to be safe. I'd hate for you to catch a cold."

"Fire dragons don't get colds." He argued with a pout.

"True, but you're human. So that doesn't really apply to you."

Human. He tensed a bit at the word. Recently he questioned if that is what he really was. Though when he thought about it, "demon" didn't seem to fit either. He was stuck somewhere in the middle. Hemon? Duman? Something like that. He was never good with words.

"Where are the girls?" He asked before taking a sip from the cup.

"Sleeping with Happy." she replied. "They wanted to come with me, but I told them that if they didn't get proper rest they wouldn't grow up big and strong."

Her husband huffed in amusement. "I remember you used to tell me and Gray that when we were kids."

"Lucky for Gray he listened." She joked.

"Whatever." He took another sip.

The stars were the brightest they had been in a while. Perhaps it was because of where they were sitting, or maybe it was because the seasons were starting to change. Either way it was a sight to behold for the both of them...or so they thought.

From the corner of her eye the redhead could noticed the subdued look in her husband's eyes. He'd been wearing it a lot recently.

Suddenly she grabbed his face and turned his head to the left.

"Ow! What are you-"

"Does it still hurt?" She traced her thumb along the scar on his cheek, her slender appendage following the jagged mark to the underside of his chin. It wasn't the only scar on his body by any means, but it was certainly the most visible one.

"Nah. It's fine." He replied dryly, waving her hand away.

"I'm sure if you asked, Wendy could get rid of it."

"I know. She told me that, but I turned her down."

"Why?"

"I guess because it's a reminder of everything that happened." He explained as he traced his own finger along the scar. "I don't wanna forget."

"I see." She smiled warmly. "We'll keep it then."

"It's not a pet." He took another a third sip from his mug. "How's guild master work?"

"Exhausting." She sighed roughly. "I have no idea how Master Makarov and Macao managed for so long. If it's not a meeting on how to improve guild relations, it's filling out paperwork on rebuilding the town, or filtering the never ending flood of job requests. That's not even going into the meetings with the Council. Thank the heavens for Mirajane and Levy."

Her husband chuckled. It was rare to hear her complain so much about work. Normally his wife was so composed and diligent when it came to such things, but hearing her vent her frustrations was refreshing in a way. It was a side of her only **he** got to see.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Enough about me. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah. Why do you keep asking me that?"

"It's just...you seem a bit distant lately. You haven't been to the guild in weeks, let alone taken a job, and you haven't slept much either. I always feel you shuffling around at night."

She felt his shoulder slack just a bit under her weight.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up all the time."

"It's fine. Just talk to me."

Her husband took a deep breath, his eyes looking out to the dark blue horizon. "I don't know what to do anymore."

His wife raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"When we were kids I wanted to find Igneel, right? I thought getting stronger would help. Maybe he would come back if I became the **strongest** wizard in the world, but then it turned out he was inside me the whole time." He clenched his fist under the blanket. "But I couldn't even be happy about it for long before Acnologia killed him."

His voice cracked a bit. Igneel's death was still a sensitive subject. The redhead remembered holding him as he cried over his father's corpse. It was a pain she never wanted him to experience again.

She gently placed his hand over his, squeezing it a bit to show she was still there listening to him.

He continued.

"After that I wanted to defeat Acnologia. At first it was because I didn't want anyone else to die…but honestly I was just lying to myself. I wanted to **kill** him. Not to protect anybody either. I just wanted revenge. I wanted to do the same thing he did to Igneel…but I went to far and ended up hurting **you** instead."

His wife glanced over her shoulder. She could see a small portion of the scar on her back creeping onto her shoulder. It didn't hurt anymore, but every now and again it would itch. Now was one of those times.

"When the guild came back I thought I would be happy, but nothing really changed. All I wanted was to get my hands on Acnologia and make him pay for what he did. Zeref too. All I could see was red. I was so angry. I mean how messed up is it that my own brother almost destroyed the whole world?"

He tried to smile, but his wife saw right through him. The guilt still weighed heavily on his mind.

She understood his pain. The war finally brought her face to face with her mother. She had always wondered what type of person she would be, but she never imagined that she would be so monstrous. It wasn't completely her fault though. She was broken. A victim of years of abuse both physical and psychological. Their battle was a grueling one. Had it not been for her own daughter intervening, it may have ended very differently.

"I felt myself falling deeper and deeper into this giant hole." Her husband said. "No matter how hard I tried I couldn't come out. The rage just kept building up and then that… **thing** finally came out. END. If you didn't show up I might have killed Gray and whole lot of other people. But do you know what the funniest part about all of it is?"

"What?" she was almost afraid to ask.

"When we beat Acnologia…I didn't feel **anything**. I wasn't happy. I wasn't sad. I wasn't even relieved. I just felt… **nothing**. Is that bad? Is it because I'm not human? What do I do now?"

The young man turned to his wife, his eyes begging for some sort of answer.

"I don't know." The redhead said plainly. "To be honest the fact that we even survived is nothing short of a miracle. There were many times where we could and maybe **should** have died, but here we are. We're still here. I think that counts for something. If you want to know what to do, just keep moving forward. Keep going and don't look back. You'll find something eventually."

"But what if I don't find anything on my own? What then?"

She turned his face towards hers, her smile brighter than the light of the moon.

"Who said you would be alone?"

She kissed him tenderly, every ounce of love she had filling both his body and mind. The warmth melted away his doubts, at least for the moment.

His heart dropped a bit when she pulled away, but she placed her hand on the back of his head and pulled him in until their foreheads touched. A familiar gesture that he had used many times to calm the nerves of his friends. He almost forgot that **she** was the first one to show it to him.

"I love you." she declared. "With everything that I am. No matter what you may be, human or demon, I will **always** be here by your side. That's the vow I made when were we wed and I intend to honor it until my dying breath, perhaps even beyond that."

"Erza…"

"If you ever feel the pressure is too much for you to carry, share it with me. If you're lost, I will guide you back to the light. If you feel yourself drowning, reach out and I will pull you up. No matter what I will be here."

Natsu smiled softly. "Thanks. I mean it. I love you, too."

"I know." She grinned.

They kissed again, this time illuminated by the light of the rising sun.

* * *

"Dad! Come on! Wake up! We're going to be late!"

"Five more minutes…" Came a weak voice from beneath the covers.

"You said that ten minutes ago. Now, rise! And! shine!"

Natsu fell to the floor with a loud thud as the sheets were yanked from under him. His pained groan was answered with a giggle. When he peeked over the bed, his narrow eyes spotted a young girl with rose gold hair, and a wide smile on her lips.

"You up now?" she asked.

"Yeah." Natsu pulled himself to his feet.

"Good. We're running late."

"Yeah. Yeah. Get out will ya? I gotta change."

"Yes, sir!"

The girl saluted and bounced out of the room, the door closing behind her.

A few minutes later, Natsu emerged from his bedroom full dressed. Waiting in the foyer was the young girl from earlier, as well as a girl with short black hair. She was sipping tea at the dinner table.

"Good morning, Father." She greeted, not looking his way.

"Morning, Neko."

"Come on, Dad! Let's get going already! Mom and Happy are already at the guild! Everyone's waiting!"

"Ok! Ok! Stop pulling!"

Aura grabbed her father by the arm and pulled him out of the house, Neko following behind.

A lot had changed over the years.

Magnolia itself had become much bigger, but it still somehow retained that small town charm that Natsu had grown up with. He waved to the people on the streets and they waved back, each one happy to see one of Fairy Tail's famed S-Class wizards taking the time to notice them.

He remembered the day he finally claimed the title, people from all over town praised his achievement, each one reminding him how he had grown from a punk kid that loved to get into trouble…into a grown man that also loved to get into trouble – though much less frequently than before. That was years ago though, now everyone was more than used to his status.

Aura's laughter brought Natsu attention back to daughters. Just like the town both of them had grown as well.

Aura looked so much like her mother that it scared Natsu a bit, but the smile and attitude were all his. At first, he worried how she would adjust to life without being able to use magic, but to his surprise she adapted just fine. He had Kagura and Erza's training sessions to thank for that.

Neko was the complete opposite. The girl was a natural. Any form of magic you taught her, she picked up immediately. She was like a sponge, or some sort of magic absorbing lacrima. If she took the S-Class trial now she would more than likely pass with flying colors.

The wind picked up a bit, forcing Natsu to grab what was left of his scarf so it didn't fly away. It was about a third of the length it was when it was first given to him by Anna. A piece was being used by Aura as a headband, while Neko used the other as a scarf of her own.

He wondered what Igneel would think about it, but he surmised that he wouldn't mind his grandchildren having something made from his scales. In fact he would probably encourage it.

"What job should we go on first?!" Aura eagerly asked her sister. "How about monster hunting?! Or looking for buried treasure?! Oh! What about taking down a dark guild?!"

"I doubt mother will let us do anything too dangerous for our first job, Robin." Neko replied.

Aura pouted. "You're no fun." She turned to Natsu. "What was your first job, Dad?"

"Helping a cat stuck in a tree." Natsu recalled. "Gramps wouldn't let us do anything too crazy when we joined because we were kids."

"That sounds boring. I hope we don't have to do anything like that."

"I can see the guild." Neko pointed.

At the end of the main road stood the Fairy Tail guild. Just like the rest of the town it had grown in size over the past few years. It was easily the tallest building in town now.

A girl with long dark green hair in a braid that sat under a wide cowboy hat stood before the front gates, the pistols at her waist shifting as she walked up to the group.

"Took y'all long enough." She said. "I've been waiting out here forever."

"Asuka!" Aura pounced on her best friend, hugging her tight and hoisting her into the air. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"It was only a month!" Asuka blushed as she struggled to free herself from Aura's iron grip. "Would you let go already?! This is embarrassing!"

"Sorry." Aura apologized and set her down.

"Yo, Asuka." Natsu greeted. "How was the family trip?"

"Exhausting." The girl sighed. "Mom and Pop barely let me do anything. All I did was shoot at cans."

"That was probably for the best." Neko interjected.

"What did you say, sourpuss!"

"Is your hearing as bad as your aim?"

"Hey no fighting!" Aura shouted, getting between them. "We're a team now, remember? We have to get along."

"Fine." Asuka scoffed.

"As you wish." Neko said.

"Great. Now let's go inside! I can't wait anymore!"

As soon as Aura opened the door she and the others were greeted with a rain of confetti and balloons, as well as the sound of poppers. Finally, a banner reading "Congratulations" fell from over the stage. Erza was standing under the banner, a smile on her face as she wore the guild's ceremonial armor.

"Come to the stage, you three."

The girls did as they were told amidst the cheers and congratulations from their friends and peers.

"I have had the honor and privilege to watch the three of you grow from children into beautiful and strong young women." Said the guild master. "Each of you have shown wisdom and bravery much beyond your years, and as such I am proud to properly welcome you all into the Fairy Tail guild."

She motioned to Mirajane who was standing near the bar. Stamp in hand, the snow haired maiden approached the girls.

"Where would you like them?" she asked.

Asuka was first, pulling back her vest to reveal the tube top underneath. She pointed just below her collarbone.

"Right here!"

"Ok then." The barmaid giggled and stamped the spot. When she removed it a bright green mark shined on Asuka's chest.

"Awesome. Thanks!"

"You're welcome." Mirajane smiled. "You're next, Neko."

The stoic girl turned around and pulled up the back of her shirt. Her back was covered in scars.

"My right shoulder blade is fine." She said, not seeing the barmaid's sullen expression.

"R-right." Mirajane returned to her senses and placed the black stamp on the girl's back.

Neko lowered her shirt and bowed to Mirajane.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Finally, she made her way to Aura. The girl could barely contain herself. "Where would you like yours, Aura?"

"Here!" Aura immediately pointed to her right shoulder. "I want it in the same place as Dad!"

Mirajane giggled. "Coming right up." She pressed the stamp against the girl's shoulder, leaving a dark red mark.

The girls faced Erza.

"I hope you each wear those marks with pride, and remember…" she raised her finger in the air, prompting everyone else in the guild to do the same. "No matter where you go, we'll always be looking your way. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

The guild erupted in cheers and soon everyone surrounded the girls, congratulating them for their admittance.

Natsu stayed in the back, a smile on his face as he watched the scene.

"You were late."

His wife joined him at the top of the stairs, having requipped into her normal clothes.

"Sorry. I overslept." he said.

"They look happy." Erza noted as she watched the girls talk to everyone.

"Are you sure?" Natsu questioned. Sure Aura and Asuka were both smiling as wide as they could, but Neko's face remained stone.

"Neko has trouble expressing herself, but I can tell she's as happy as the others."

"So what's happening today?" Natsu asked.

"Well once I give the girls their first job, we can get going on our own job. Lucy found a most interesting S-Class request. Something about a monster sighting outside of Crocus."

Natsu grinned. "Should the guild master be going out on jobs?"

"I'm entitled to some fresh air every now and again, besides Mirajane can handle things while we're gone."

Natsu shrugged and smiled wide. "Sounds good to me."

The pair kissed.

It was a long journey, but everything had finally settled as it should. All doubts were erased, and all the fears they held were melted away. Two people who lived two completely different lives found each other by chance, fell in love despite the obstacles, and even started a family. The union between a knight and dragon had given birth to a light, one that would shine long after they were gone.

With their journey having ended for the moment, a new adventure was set to begin in the form of their daughter, but they weren't afraid. For they knew that was long as their was love and hope in their hearts, the adventure would never truly end.

* * *

 **So Natza week happened, and I decided to write this in celebration. Essentially this is an epilogue to 7 Years and Counting. I know I never fully finished the fic (mostly due to my love for both the series and the couple waning as time passed), but I felt some bit of closure was needed. I didn't go into too much detail about how the final arc played out for obvious reasons. I may go back and do the arc as its own separate, but that's only an idea for now.**

 **As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)**


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